Red Dots from Footprints

BEST Footprints on the Trail Show EVER.

Brownie Baseball

Occasionally I accept commissioned work to  supplement my passion for old paper. On top of that, I began to create collectibles in 1989, although it was unwittingly at the time. Having begun to put art work on envelopes in the mid Fifties after seeing the art of C. M. Russell, I had no idea that there were people who collected these little gems. I have posted a number of pieces of 'mail art' since I began publishing my blog, and looking for the mail art label HERE will keep you busy for awhile. Properly called first day covers, these regular envelopes carry stamps cancelled in the city where the stamp is first released for public sale, and in this case it was Cooperstown, New York.

In 1939, a person interested in creating a first day cover would have to send self-addressed envelopes and cash to cover the cost of the postage to the postmaster of the city where the stamp was to be released. I have three of these envelopes with the same name on them, and a little research informed me that Mr. Kleinod was a member of the American Philatelic Society as early as 1921.

As for the art work, it is a cigar label for the Beckett & Brown Company of Eastport, Maine, who sponsored and fielded a baseball team called the Brownie Nine. The cigars were a nickel. Before 1920, there were over 25,000 cigar manufacturers in the United States. Cigar sales were strictly regulated and taxed by the government, and the labels produced between 1880 and 1920 were works of art produced using a method of printing called stone lithography.

I urge those who are interested in the label as an art form to visit the Cigar Label Junkie for a virtual library of labels of every description. This is either my fourth or fifth cover that I have created for the same gentleman, and I have not run out of baseball related cigar labels quite yet.

Brownie Number 1 - I Shutter

A very significant piece of old paper from the ledger of C. W. Rank & Company in Virginia City, Montana. Water stained on the edges, chipped on the upper edge, and toning all around. Am I happy I found it? Yes, yes I am.

As can be seen in the lower section, the invoice is dated April 15, 1901. This date is significant not because it's the date our income taxes come due (income tax would not be a burden for another twelve years), but because by October of 1901, the Brownie Number 1 camera would be discontinued. George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, began selling the Brownie Number 1 in 1900 for the princely (not really) sum of ONE DOLLAR. Of course C. W. Rank got a discount of 33%, which brought his cost to only fifty cents, since his was a retail establishment. Probably a good move on C. W. Rank's part to turn around and sell this one camera, and order a few more.

For those of you interested in the history of the Brownie Camera, I urge you to visit a page devoted to all things Brownie Camera related, called The Brownie Camera Page. I decided a long time ago that if I ever found any Kodak paper that was of the right period for a Palmer Cox Brownie, I knew what was going to end up on it.

George Eastman was a marketing genius, and because this camera is considered to be the most significant camera in the history of cameras, he chose to team up with Palmer Cox. It was a good move. Children (and adults) at the turn of the century were well aware of the Brownies, and there was never a better way to encourage the sale of cameras to the common folk than Brownies.

I Want Your Chocolate!

For this year's Western Heritage Art Show & Sale, I will be participating in two events: The Quick Finish and Auction on Thursday evening, and the Quick Finish and Live Auction on Saturday evening. I have not yet decided which one of these I will be doing for which event, so I could use some assistance from the audience.

I realize that  these images are not really 'finished', but that's the idea behind the Quick Finish events. Potential patrons get to watch more than twenty of us put forty-five minutes to good use.

The Thursday evening event supports the Western Heritage Artists by raising funds to defray the cost of putting on the five day show. The Saturday evening event is called Art Competing for Causes, and this year we are supporting Breast Cancer Awareness along with other worthy causes.

Breakfast Brownies for a Penny

 

My sister Penny and her spouse Chuck Pefley produce a Christmas card every year, as they have since 1992. A collaboration - His image and Her verse, and it's always a welcome bit of Christmas Candy for your eyes.

And your heart.

Thank you to the both of you for making this Christmas so special to me.

The little critter in the upper left hand corner? His name is Do-Bee. That's Chuck on his Vespa. There's Bob on his sled, and Genie just pulled a gold Penny from his bag. I don't think that the little fellow witth his nose in a book is named Mark, but perhaps.

BROWNIES - The Breakfast Variety

 

This one is special. My first stamp. My first multiple using a basic greeting card envelope format, although all of my mail art has taken this form. I created a template from a piece of clear plastic which is proportioned to make a large five+ by seven inch+ envelope from a standard sheet of paper. It also accepts a five by seven inch blank greeting card, available to those who want to create their own cards - like me.

Is there more to this story? Yes, there definitely is.

Lenna, this started with YOU! We exchanged mail art months ago, and you started something with your whimsical Brownies that was simply irresistible. Two years before, I'd been given the opportunity to examine and crudely copy some newspaper print blocks for a product that was packaged (and apparently sold) right here in Helena, called Breakfast Brownies Cereal. This was long before Cocoa Puffs and Sonny, the Cuckoo Bird. I mean, what kid can resist a cartoon character on their box of Chocolated Cereal?

The advertising images for Breakfast Brownies extolled the virtues of eating this product which even a puppy could not resist. Breakfast Brownies Cereal was stirred and served up by three Brownies. They weren't Palmer Cox Brownies, and although I could work with the Breakfast Brownies characters, I started looking into Vintage Brownies, and discovered Palmer Cox. He is the Father of all things Brownie. I'll name a few companies to which he licensed the characters : Ivory Soap, Nabisco (Brownie Biscuits), Lion Coffee (stand-up paper dolls offered as premiums) and the famous Kodak Brownie camera. These businesses were all licensed to allow them to use his characters. He also marketed games, toys and dolls on his own. And he had imitators. Lots of them. Including the unknown artist who developed the Breakfast Brownies characters. This artist wasn't alone. It is surmised that there were more unlicensed uses than there were of the licensed variety.

Palmer Cox, who began creating his whimsical little characters in the 1890's, developed quite a following among kids and parents alike. The best part was, he caught the eyes and minds of everyone for almost forty years, and wrote over twenty-five books about his characters.

I'll not reveal the images for the other Brownies Mail Art that I've done - until after Christmas. They're all personalized. And those who are getting them can simply wait until they arrive. I'm into surprises that arrive in the mail.